For the International Day of Happiness, we're sharing a special episode from The Happiness Lab. It's a chance to talk about happiness and what we can all do to be happier. March 20th also sees the release of the World Happiness Report. A big finding of 2025's report is that more of us are dining alone—and that's bad news. 

The report's editor Jan-Emmanuel De Neve shares the stark figures showing that shared meals are in decline, while Dr. Anne Fischel of The Family Dinner Project gives tips on how to dine better with friends, families and colleagues. 

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In 1974, a federal judge ruled that Boston’s public schools were unconstitutionally segregated. The solution? A controversial experiment in desegregation known as “busing,” which would take children from majority-white schools and bus them to predominantly Black schools, and vice versa. What followed was a year of upheaval, violence, and fierce protests, as Boston became a battleground for the heated national debate over school integration and racism in the North.

In this dramatic audiobook, journalist Leon Neyfakh (co-creator of the podcasts Slow Burn and Fiasco) unpacks the history of busing in Boston and brings to life the human stories behind the headlines. Listen on Pushkin.fm, Audible, Spotify or wherever you get audiobooks.

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The holidays are supposed to be a time of joy. But all too often, the darker, colder days of winter, and even the stress of preparing for the holidays themselves, can lead people to feel something else: rushed, stressed, lonely, or even hopeless. How can you make sure this year is bright?

Dr Laurie joins Dave DeSteno on his show How God Works: The Science Behind Spirituality to unpack the psychological secrets of celebrations from Christmas, to Hanukkah, to Yule, and more. They’ll also discuss how we can put that wisdom into practice, whatever our beliefs, to make this season a happier and healthier one for all.

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How is 5G powering the use of AI to revolutionize life-saving solutions? Malcolm sits with T-Mobile for Business CMO Mo Katibeh, 3AM Innovations COO Ryan Litt, and the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine's Dr. Azizi Seixas to find out in this special episode of Revisionist History. Brought to you in partnership with T-Mobile for Business, and recorded live from the Mobile World Congress in Las Vegas.

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What did the 2014 Ebola outbreak teach us about preventing future pandemics? Our guests this week, Christian Happi and Pardis Sabeti, are world experts on disease surveillance, and have worked together fighting infectious disease in Africa for over a decade. Happi shares a gripping account of how he courageously helped stop Ebola from spreading in Nigeria during the 2014 West Africa outbreak. Then Sabeti explains how a new era of surveillance may help prevent future pandemics.

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How the largely forgotten race between Al Gore and George W. Bush roiled Florida long before anyone had ever heard of a hanging chad.

For a full list of sources, check out the Fiasco website.

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The biggest names in wellness podcasting - "The Titans of Happiness" - come together to talk about the greatest mental health challenges facing us in 2024 and the very simple things we can all do to be happier. 

Joining Dr Laurie Santos for this World Mental Health Day special are: 

Dr Joy Harden Bradford, the clinical psychologist and host of the podcast Therapy for Black Girls.

Gretchen Ruben, the best-selling author, host of Happier with Gretchen Rubin and all-round happiness guru at GretchenRubin.com.

Dan Harris, the former TV news anchor who now fronts 10% Happier with Dan Harris and the online community at Dan Harris.com. 

And since this is an extra special episode, Dr Laurie invited one extra special guest, Sesame Street’s Elmo. 

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Sports fans experience incredible highs and lows, and spend loads of money on a product over which they have no control. But for a long time, no one bothered to study the minds or impulses of fans. Michael Lewis finds out how that's changing as writers and academics learn more about the powerful psychology of fandom. Just in time for technology to exploit fandom more than ever.

For further reading: 

Eric Simons’ book The Secret Lives of Sports Fans

Research by Murray State University psychology professor Daniel Wann on fandom: https://murraystate.academia.edu/DanielWann

The Henry Tajfel Experiments

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It’s hard to stay hopeful these days. Stanford professor Jamil Zaki has been studying the incredible depth of human kindness for decades, but even he gives in to cynicism when he doubts our ability to be civil and cooperative. 

That’s a shame - because shedding cynicism and grasping hope will make you happier and healthier. Jamil and Dr Laurie Santos look at the scientific evidence showing that we should be more trusting of other people and optimistic about our facility to work together. 

Jamil's book Hope for Cynics: The Surprising Science of Human Goodness is out now.

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George Santos runs for Congress and wins. Then the stories he told on the campaign trail start to fall apart. Semafor’s Kadia Goba wants to figure out where his money is coming from. Saurav Ghosh, of the Campaign Legal Center, finds the Santos filings suspicious. As Santos’ criminal trial approaches, Producer Amy Gaines McQuade walks Jake Halpern through the moment when the cracks began to show.  

Note: George Santos is now expected to plead guilty, as first reported by Talking Points Memo.

This is a developing story. We will update listeners as more information becomes available.

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